The final day of Royal Ascot just added insult to injury, with Mac's Power and Ithoughtitwasover failing to get involved, with the former being unlucky in-running, though he wouldn't have won either. The latter was never positioned to be seen with a chance and can be forgiven due to that. He can win again and would be of interest if running at Newmarket, where he'll have plenty of opportunity to get into stride, something that proved an impossible task at Ascot. I had my best month ever in June of last year, getting 125pts of profit and had an excellent time of it at the Royal meeting, but no such luck this time around and it will go down as my worst month ever. We will bounce back though, we always do, and hopefully before too long.

-5.00pts on the day. Form of last 10 selections; 0-0-7-0-5-0-7-5-0-0 (0 winners & 0 places).

No really outstanding bets for today but the racing is at least of a decent quality and I have found a couple that are worth chancing at the prices. The write-ups will be a bit shorter for a while as I'll be spending even more time going through the races and by the time I get to writing a bit about the selections, I will be half-asleep. Hopefully it will lead to some winners though and a good July would set us up nicely for the rest of the season. June has been very tough to take after being profitable for the first five months of the year but it happens, has happened and all that I can do is learn from the mistakes and try to improve on them. With a bit of luck, we might get to celebrate a winner today and hopefully that'll happen. Have a good one folks.

Also, RIP Campbell Gillies. He would have been 22 today. Heartbreaking stuff, he deserved much more.

3:00 Carlisle - Sound Advice - 2pts @ 4/1 (General)

The Keith Dalgleish trained 3-year-old, Sound Advice, had looked as if he didn't train on when running no race on each of his first two runs of this season but was then gelded, given nearly a couple of months off the track and bounced back to form with a solid 2-length 3rd of 11 over a mile at Hamilton last week. That effort needs marking up due to how free he was throughout the early stages, leaving him with little left in the reserves for the uphill finish and getting so close to the potentially well-handicapped duo that finished in front of him reads quite well. That should have taken the fizz out of him somewhat and a much improved effort could be on the cards here, though he is not one bit straightforward and it's impossible to know how he'll react when asked for an effort (hangs and holds his head awkwardly under pressure). He at least possess more than enough ability to win off a mark of 79 and gets an allowance of 10lbs for tackling his elders here, which is sure to help. Paul Mulrennan being on board is a positive too, as he has a win and a place from just a pair of rides on this fellow, and also hops off Chookie Royale in order to ride. 4/1 isn't an outstanding price by any means, but there's more than enough leeway there and he should go quite well.

Result - Non-runner; Reared badly in the stalls and was withdrawn. 

3:30 Carlisle - Silvery Moon - 2pts @ 8/1 (General)

The last time that Tim Easterby's brute of a 5-year-old, Silvery Moon, contested a C4 contest over a mile saw him leave the races with career win number two and he could repeat the trick with ground conditions to his liking and at a track that should play to his strengths. The only reason that he's available at such a price here is down to disappointing in a better race at Doncaster last time out, where he was sent off in the lead and that's exactly how you should ride a horse like this if you want him to lose, as he doesn't do a tap in front and rarely looks comfortable when up there (idled badly when he last won). Previous to that he had run a pair of crackers at Ripon in better races, finishing second and third, showing that he's well up to winning off his current rating when the cards fall his way. With so much raw speed in today's contest, he's going to get a race run to suit and he gets his ground as well, as it must be on the soft side for him (has a crazily round action). Paul Mulrennan also takes the ride on this fellow (can only assume that David Allan is suspended) and he's 2-7 when riding for Easterby this season. With the right tactics and some luck, he could be hard to keep out of the frame and looks overpriced at the current odds. It's a trappy race though and anything can happen at a track like this, but he's worthy of the usual sized support. Rain would help.

Result - 3rd @ 10/1; Beaten little more than a neck. Ran really well. Pfft.